Music For The Divine...intervention? Nope, the white man with the 'black' voice is back. A real hardworker, you want believe the amount of effort he's been up to the last - let's say - 20 years. Even if his 'deeds' date back to 1969 and the magical 'blues' rockin' music of Trapeze (pre-Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland plus early 80s Whitesnake axeman Mel Galley completed this wonderful trio), Glenn Hughes has not apparently stopped releasing solo albums or guest-appearing at other artists' albums from 1985 onwards. And what a quality in music, many would add in delight.
Even if mostly known from his works with Trapeze and -mainly- Deep Purple, Englishman Glenn Hughes is not the kind of pure Hard Rocker many would assume. This was clearly seen, on first basis, by his 1976 solo debut Play Me Out. Working in the Hughes/Thrall project plus for Gary Moore, Phenomena and Black Sabbath, Hughes achieved putting his 'groovy Soul-ie Rock' personality into real Hard rockin' albums (remember Sabbath's Seventh Star album?). Also, something few seem to know is his 'guest' participation in the early 90s KLF's Techno Pop hit America: What Time Is Love?. Meet the man...
His so-far solo discography certainly pleased his die-hard followers, with the 2005 Soul Mover on top of the list. Thus, a live DVD entitled Soulfully Live In The City Of Angels slightly afterwards did show nothing less than Hughes' perfectionism onstage, offering faultless groovy bluesy/funky Rock with the support of long-time friends and current notable colleagues. In his 'trademark' voice, Glenn Hughes seems to have a lot more to offer.
Music For The Divine sees Hughes cooperating once again with Red Hot Chilli Peppers drummer Chad Smith on drums and long-time guitar player and co-writer J.J. Marsh on guitar. The power of The Valiant Denial caught me by surprise as it is a very intense song, even if featuring acoustic/string stuff. Yet, as the albums goes on it is evident that Hughes steps on the recipe of Soul Mover in order to create a better successor. Chad's drumming is extraordinary, rather applicable to Hughes' wants, while J.J. Marsh is now a GH 'parameter' filtered in the music.
Funk Rock fans will find lots of joy in this album. Some 70s Rock elements are scattered here and there (e.g. Too High), while the guitar solo work is the most rockin' 'ingredient' in the album (try Black Light, for example). Not to forget, Glenn's performance is - again - marvellous, e.g. the Moody Blues classic Nights In White Satin is of enough respect, since the harmony vocals show a completely different approach.
Music For The Divine is the album you should get if you liked last year's Soul Mover; many will find this one even better. Still, for the likes of a typical Hard & Heavy fan, this one - too - is an album not that relevant. Hence, the rating.